Electric-railway system.



No. 744,246. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

A. A. SHOBE & W. EMBLEY.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1903.

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UNITED STATES.

i atented November 17, 1903.

PAT NT OFFICE.

ABRAHAM A. SHOBE AND WILLIAM EMBLEY, OF J ERSEYVILLE, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC-RAILWAY SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 744,246, dated N ovember17, 1903.

Original application filed April 10, 1903, Serial No. 152,079. Dividedand this application filed June 17, 1903. Serial No. 161,897. (Nomodel.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ABRAHAM A. SHOBE and WILLIAM EMBLEY, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Jerseyville, in the county of Jersey andState of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Electi ic-RailwaySystem, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in electric-railwaysystems, and has for its principal object to provide a thoroughlypractical and eflicient system which may be installed at a comparativelylow cost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system in which acontinuous-current conductor is so arranged and supported as to permitfree expansion and contraction due to thermal changes Without injuringthe conductor or its connections and without such distortion as wouldtend to impair the contact with the movable trolley used to convey thecurrent to and from the car motor or motors.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of thischaracter in which the current-conductor is thoroughlyinsulated andmaintained out of contact with the trolley without interfering with itsoperation and without increasing the resistance to any material extent.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved formof supporting means for the current-conducting wire and to thoroughlyinsulate the wire proper without interfering with its freelongitudinalmovement during expansion and contraction,and, further, to prevent allwear on the wire by the employment of auxiliary strips for directengagement with the trolley-wheels or similar current-collectors.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in thenovel'construction and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of thestructure may be made without departing from the spirit orsacrificingany of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectionalelevation of an electricrailway system embodying the invention andshowing the constructionand arrangement of the current-conductor and themanner in which the same is supported in an underground conduit. Fig. 2is an elevation, partly in section, of one of the current-conductingwires and the insulating and supporting means therefor. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional elevation of the same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the bonding-plates used toconnect the current-conducting Wire with thetrolley contact-strips. Fig.5 is a similar view of a portion of one of the jacket or casing memberswhich surrounds the bondingstrips and the adjacent ends of the armor orcovering of the current-conductor.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The present invention relates more particularly to the arrangementandsupport of one of the current-conducting wires of an electric-railwaysystem, the means for insulating the same, and the arrangement of theindependent conducting -strips with which the current-collector engages,as fully disclosed v and described in an application for United StatesLetters Patent filed by us on April 10, 1903, under Serial No. 152,079,and of which the present application is a division.

While the drawings show the application of the invention to only one ofthe currentconducting wires, the negative in the present instance, it isof course to be understood that the invention is not in any senselimited to this particular application, as it may be employed inconnection with a positive wire and used on underground, surface, oroverhead systems.

In the drawings there is shown a conduit comprising opposite side plates1 and the concaved bottom '3,provided at intervals withdrainage-openings 4, leading to a drain-tube 5, which extends,preferably, for the whole length of the conduit, and when used in citiesthe drain-pipe may be connected to the catchbasin usually found atstreet-corners. The top of the conduit is formed of plates 6. Atsuitableintervals are arranged brackets 7,

having vertical arms firmly secured to the inner walls of the sideplates and provided with horizontal arms for the support of the topplates and the electrical conductors. To the under sides of the bracketsare secured depending hangers 10, which serve as supports for theconductors and their connected parts, these hangers being arranged inpairs, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The hangers at one side of the conduit support the positive conductor11, while those of the opposite sides serve as supports for the negativeor return conductor 12. The opposite wire-supports are formed of twooppositely-disposed bars 13, preferably made of wood or other suitablenon-conductor and are made in sections of sufficient length and coatedwith a suitable paint or preserving compound. The adjacent faces of thebars are provided with longitudinal slots 14: for the reception of theupper transverse crossbar of a T-shaped hanger 15, the lower end ofwhich is hook-like in form and is bent to engage the opposite sides ofthe positive wire 11, said wire being made of peculiar form incross-section (illustrated in Fig. 1) in order that it may be properlysupported by the hangers. The construction is such as to permit freesliding movement of the hangers in the grooves of the wooden or othersupporting bars and permits of the placing of the wire in properposition during the preliminary iustallation,as well as permittingsubsequent longitudinal movement of the Wire due to the expansion orcontraction, thus preventing breaking from this cause and furtherpreventing such distortion of the wire as to impair the contact of thetraveling currentcollectors.

The negative or return wire 12 is formed of copper of the usual shape incross-section, and in order to more fully protect the Wire it isinclosed in a practically continuous tube 18, formed of insulatingmaterial, the latter being incased in a jacket 19, formed of sections ofmetal or other tubing of any appropriate character. The metal tubes areformed of lengths of about twenty feet in order that they may be readilyhandled and are supported at the tops of two bars 20, formed of wood orother suitable material secured at intervals to the hangers 10, theconstruction permitting perfect freedom of movement of the return-wireand also of the tube-sections during expansion and construction.

The active contacts of the return-wire, or those which are in directelectrical contact with the traveling collectors of the car, are formedof bars 21 of iron or other suitable material in sections of convenientlength and supported in position by transversely-disposed bolts 22,which also serve to unite the wooden bars 20 to the hanger,insulatingsleeves being preferably introduced through the openingsformed in the bars 21 in order to prevent leakage of the current andshortcircuiting to ground through the conduit.

The adjacent ends of bars 21 are connected by bonding-plates 23, formedofcopper or other good conducting material, the plates being first bentaround the wire 12 at points adjacent to the spaced ends of theprotecting-tubes and thence united to the several iron bars by rivets orother permanent fastenings, so that the current from the motor andtrolley will pass through the iron bars to the proper conducting-wirewith but little resistance and the wear will be exclusively on the ironbars, which may be readily renewed in case of wear or breakage.

In order to protect the wire at the bondingspaces, said wire and thebonding-plates are surrounded by insulating linings 24, and these areincased in jackets 25, each formed of a pair of substantiallysemicircular plates hinged together at their upper ends and riveted orotherwise secured together at their lower ends, the jackets embracingalso the ends of the protecting-tubes in such manner as to permit freemovement of the latter without danger of breakage or distortion.

In connection with the system there is used a current-collectorcomprising a bar or strip 40, carrying suitable wheels 53, adapted toengage the current-conductors and carried by a suitablesupporting-bracket depending from the car.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isl. Inelectric-railway systems, a currentconductor free to expand and contractlongitudinally, and a plurality of trolley contact bars or strips havingtheir adjacent ends bonded to each other and connected at intervals tosaid conductor.

2. In an electric-railway system, a currentconductor free to expand andcontract longitudinally, a sectional protecting means for the conductor,and trolley contact members having their adjacent ends bonded to eachother and connected to the conductor.

3. In electric-railway systems, a currentconductor free to expand andcontract longitudinally, a sectional protecting-tube covering theconductor, the adjacent ends of the sections being spaced, aninsulating-lining between the conductor and the tubes, trolleycontact-bars formed in sections, bonding devices for connecting theadjacent ends of the bars to each other and to the conductor at pointsbetween the spaced ends of the tubes, and auxiliary protecting-sleevesextending over the spaced portions and inclosing the ends of saidconductor.

4. In electric-railway systems, a currentconductor free to expand andcontract longitudinally, a protecting device inclosing the cond uctorand formed of a plurality of spaced tube-sections, an insulating-liningbetween the two sections and the conductor, trolley contact-bars formedin sections, bondingplates connecting the adjacent ends of the bars toeach other and to the conductor, and supporting-bars for both thetrolley contactbars and the conductor.

at points between the adjacent ends of thetube-sections, an insulatingand protecting sleeve surrounding the conductor between adjacenttube-sections,and supports on which the sleeve and tube-sections restand on which they are free to move with the current-conductor forexpansion and contraction.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

ABRAHAM A. SHOBE. WILLIAM EMBLEY.

Witnesses:

GEORGE W. WARE, ROBERT N. MoCLURn.

